I'm not sure how many electricity suppliers are left now - British Gas, Scottish Power, Octopus, Eon - any others?
I'm still with Outfox The Market but I need to do some price comparisons soon I think.
One thing I wondered though is that I use a lot less gas than they assume I use so if I forget to send in a meter reading then they inflate my bill for that month to match 'the average house'. If I didn't send in any readings before the price cap increase wouldn't they be charging me for extra gas at the lower price almost like I was pre-purchasing it? I wouldn't be falsifying my readings because it's their policy to do that.
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
@wild edges - it's one way to do it. Don't see a problem unless they were to go under owing you money. Not sure what the procedures are for getting it back.
I'm with British Gas (electric only) and over the years have moaned a lot about them - but at least they're unlikely to be allowed to fold. I have just increased my Direct Debit payments slightly even though they think I don't need to and I'm on a fixed tariff. My current tariff is about 18% more than when the Direct Debit was last formally reviewed so I think my bills will probably be higher.
However, for some reason we're using quite a bit less electricity than this time last year - no idea why - so maybe that's why they think the DD is about right🤷. But I'd prefer to be in the position of being slightly in credit rather than racking up a debt I'll be asked to pay when I can probably least afford it (Sod's law and all that).
Heaven is ... sitting in the garden with a G&T and a cat while watching the sun go down
The coming year will be a good time to keep very up to date with sending in metre readings if you are not on a smart metre. And for everyone to keep an eye on how much bills are changing monthly and why.
I can well imagine some people assuming they have enough in their current account to cover DDs coming out. And getting it wrong.
@Kili - Your heating oil price was quite high unless you bought it on a 'spike' day. I've just ordered 500 litres @ 63.54p/l.
Hate ordering oil - have to do online quotes, make a few phone calls and then phone my regular supplier and have the bartering session with them. Only once have they failed to meet or slightly undercut the other best price. Sometimes I think I can't be bothered to play the game but before now, it's saved me over £40 on a single delivery which will buy 2 bottles of gin or pay half the grocery bill depending on today's priorities....
OK then - a couple of DA bare root roses - as we're on a gardening forum😁
That's because I'm not in the UK. I live in the channel islands and at the time of ordering that was the lowest price available. The company I order from is always the lowest price of the 5 suppliers here. This company also give you a loyalty card which gives you 2 pence per litre off the petrol price when purchasing from their forecourts which is also the lowest price petrol supplier. At least the pain is softened by the reduction in the petrol price. Having said that I've given the two loyalty cards to the kids as they need them more than I do.
Everything here costs more groceries are 30% more than UK prices and don't even think about buying a house if your a youngster. Starting price for 3 bedroom properties are now at £750000 to £800000. The buy to let brigade have killed it for our kids.
'The power of accurate observation .... is commonly called cynicism by those that have not got it.
Surely these smaller companies that have folded have been piggy-backing on the larger energy companies? They were merely middlemen causing a bit of a fog over pricing. So long as there is healthy competition between the larger companies to keep prices down (and so long as they don't ring prices) then I don't really have a problem.
Feel so sorry for those that can ill afford the price hike (me included) and and who've lost money.
Why is everything so complicated, fixed price this, discount that.... It's so confusing, probably intentionally so. Just give me an honest bottom line on pricing.
@Fire, bit off topic but I started wondering. You have a smart meter - do you also have a laptop or desktop computer and have you ever worked out how much electricity they use per hour? I sometimes sit on here for hours so would be interested to know.
@Lizzie27 I did look it up. The answer is - not much.
With computers it does depend what you use them for and how efficient your model is. I use a laptop (Mac 2015) which is pretty efficient to run and I do
pretty light tasks on it - using audiobooks, docs, internet browsing. Browsing uses little power. Gaming will use a lot more. Desktops tend to use more power than laptops or tablets.
My laptop seems to use about 20-40w an hour, which is the equivalent to running a dim light bulb. Maybe £10 a year. Others will have other perspectives.
This was Friday of this week. Two laptops going (we both work from home), three smart speakers, air purifier, lamp, fridge, freezer, dehumidifier in the utility room, coffee machine, alarm system, Wi-Fi router.
Basically the laptops add a TINY amount to your usage.
Posts
I'm with British Gas (electric only) and over the years have moaned a lot about them - but at least they're unlikely to be allowed to fold. I have just increased my Direct Debit payments slightly even though they think I don't need to and I'm on a fixed tariff. My current tariff is about 18% more than when the Direct Debit was last formally reviewed so I think my bills will probably be higher.
However, for some reason we're using quite a bit less electricity than this time last year - no idea why - so maybe that's why they think the DD is about right🤷. But I'd prefer to be in the position of being slightly in credit rather than racking up a debt I'll be asked to pay when I can probably least afford it (Sod's law and all that).
@Topbird
That's because I'm not in the UK. I live in the channel islands and at the time of ordering that was the lowest price available. The company I order from is always the lowest price of the 5 suppliers here. This company also give you a loyalty card which gives you 2 pence per litre off the petrol price when purchasing from their forecourts which is also the lowest price petrol supplier.
At least the pain is softened by the reduction in the petrol price. Having said that I've given the two loyalty cards to the kids as they need them more than I do.
Everything here costs more groceries are 30% more than UK prices and don't even think about buying a house if your a youngster. Starting price for 3 bedroom properties are now at £750000 to £800000. The buy to let brigade have killed it for our kids.
'The power of accurate observation .... is commonly called cynicism by those that have not got it.
George Bernard Shaw'
Feel so sorry for those that can ill afford the price hike (me included) and and who've lost money.
Why is everything so complicated, fixed price this, discount that.... It's so confusing, probably intentionally so. Just give me an honest bottom line on pricing.
Cambridgeshire/Norfolk border.
This was Friday of this week. Two laptops going (we both work from home), three smart speakers, air purifier, lamp, fridge, freezer, dehumidifier in the utility room, coffee machine, alarm system, Wi-Fi router.